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Facts

Facts & Stats

Children and families make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.¹
The typical homeless family is a 27-year-old single mother with two children under the age of six.¹
34% of homeless persons are in families with children (47 percent are unaccompanied adult males, 16 percent are unaccompanied adult females, and 1.4 percent are unaccompanied youth).³
Homeless children are twice as likely to get sick.²
Homeless children are more likely to perform poorly in school.²
Nearly one-quarter of all sheltered homeless persons are age 17 or younger.³
Children under age 6 are disproportionately represented within both the sheltered homeless population and the poverty population.²
18.7 percent of surveyed homeless adults are veterans (fought in a war). ³
Lack of affordable housing is the leading cause of homelessness, not unemployment.⁴
By race, the homeless population is estimated to be: 49% African-American, 35% white, 13% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian.⁴

The Institute for Children & Poverty, "Homes for the Homeless," 2002
Family Housing Fund, "Homelessness and Its Effects on Children," 1999
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, "The Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress," 2007 http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/ahar.pdf
Congressional Research Service, "Homelessness: Recent Statistics, Targeted Federal Programs, and Recent Legislation," 2005 (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30442.pdf)

4.9 percent of persons living in Fairfax County fall below the poverty line.¹ Some have pointed out that this statistic underestimates the levels of poverty in Fairfax County due to the higher cost of living in the region.2 Fairfax County had the second highest median income in America, $105,241, in 2007.1 Therefore, county residents who make more than the poverty threshold may actually be living as if they were under the poverty threshold because the cost of living in our area is so high. ²
60% of homeless persons in our area are individuals in families.³
36% of homeless persons in our area are youth under age 18, 75% of these are under age 12.³
66% of homeless adults living in a family unit in our area have jobs but are not making enough money to house their families adequately.³

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey Reports, "Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data from the 2007 American Community Survey," August 2008
"Poverty in Fairfax County, Virginia," Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Fairfax_County,_Virginia)
Fairfax County, "Annual Homeless Count," 2008 (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/2008_pointintimereport_corrected-2.pdf)